2024 Mclaren Formula 1 Team

[geogate]

I don't want to hear about McLaren engine being "turned up" on Friday again.

its Lando that keeps saying it

[mwillems]

That is how it is done. Max is not perfect when under pressure.

I don't want to hear about McLaren engine being "turned up" on Friday again.

Well, you will. Best to ignore it

[chengzhongyi2013]

Half of the job done.
Hopefully the race execution will be better tomorrow.
Will be a complicated race.

Aside: Is Lando WDC material? He appears to be a changed man since the end of the summer break. Less of a smile and more of a serious/ruthless attitude? Time will tell.

[Emag]

I am worried about the star tomorrow lol.

[crapu7]

We all know he is going to bottle the race start tomorrow. It is better to be surprised if he somehow keeps the position after the first corner. Overall still confident that by the end he will manage to end up P1

[CjC]

I know it’s only half way through the weekend but if that’s the result at a track that doesn’t suit McLaren then I’ll happily take it

[Emag]

We all know he is going to bottle the race start tomorrow. It is better to be surprised if he somehow keeps the position after the first corner. Overall still confident that by the end he will manage to end up P1

Poor guy, the streak of losing P1 after the start is getting too long now. It’s gotta be some sort of record.

[mwillems]

That is how it is done. Max is not perfect when under pressure.

I don't want to hear about McLaren engine being "turned up" on Friday again.

It was weird. 1.19.6 on scrubbed tyres in Q2 and the new tyres were significantly slower on both laps. Everyone else could improve, so this was a bit of a freak occurance.

[Macklaren]

I am worried about the star tomorrow lol.

McLaren should give Oscar a direct order to stay alongside Lando and block everyone else until turn 1. They can start racing each other after that

[Mcl_G10]

The two papaya cars will have to shield the oncoming cars at the start the best they can.
We really need lando to be 1st by the end of lap 1 and for piastri to play the rear gunner role. I don't expect piastri to finish p2 (my opinion due to tyre management) so he needs to hold off the others for as long as possible.

I think having piastri at p2 will calm norris and help him at the start.

[Emag]

Carlos 3 tenths quicker in S1 but then loses 4 tenths on the rest of the lap. Charles for some reason struggling and is almost 2 tenths down on Carlos there, but a bit faster on the rest of the lap.

McLaren will be vulnerable on the longs straights if they don't start pulling away (assuming they survive the start, which is anything but give based on recent history). Top speed did not improve from FP3, that's the best they got.

EDIT: Apparently Lando had a bad first chicane on his last lap. Gap should be 0.1-0.15 to Carlos and almost level with Charles based on his first run. Still, top speed is not as good compared to both Ferrari and the Merc they have behind.

[101FlyingDutchman]

Carlos 3 tenths quicker in S1 but then loses 4 tenths on the rest of the lap. Charles for some reason struggling and is almost 2 tenths down on Carlos there, but a bit faster on the rest of the lap.

McLaren will be vulnerable on the longs straights if they don't start pulling away (assuming they survive the start, which is anything but give based on recent history). Top speed did not improve from FP3, that's the best they got.

PIA now needs to play the team game and be rear gunner for the rest of the season. Make himself a very wide obstacle and let Lando take a decent lead into the stops. But first and foremost it’s race start execution

[mwillems]

Carlos 3 tenths quicker in S1 but then loses 4 tenths on the rest of the lap. Charles for some reason struggling and is almost 2 tenths down on Carlos there, but a bit faster on the rest of the lap.

McLaren will be vulnerable on the longs straights if they don't start pulling away (assuming they survive the start, which is anything but give based on recent history). Top speed did not improve from FP3, that's the best they got.

EDIT: Apparently Lando had a bad first chicane on his last lap. Gap should be 0.1-0.15 to Carlos and almost level with Charles based on his first run. Still, top speed is not as good compared to both Ferrari and the Merc they have behind.

Carlos vs Charles. Carlos new engine would have been the reason he was faster than Charles in S1.

Ferraris top speed advantage has shrunk from 9kph to 6kph on non DRS, a bit less still vs Charles. The zone at the end of the straight where Mclaren slow is now smaller too so I'm not too worried about our speed. We match for 95%+ of the straight.

This feels like a tyre deg and corner grip tradeoff. But we'll see in 24 hours.

[LionsHeart]

It's nice to see another pole. And Oscar only cemented the team's success. Let's see how the start goes, what the pace will be in the race. But the good news is that McLaren is very fast on any track. This versatility is a very important quality for a car. I think the balance that the car has now is quite suitable for both Lando and Oscar, which allows them to squeeze everything out of the car. The car is stable and obedient. And I dare say that the phrase "on a knife edge" no longer applies to it. Well done, McLaren!


Oh, and one more thing. McLaren's top speed here isn't very high, but that didn't stop them from taking the entire front row. On the other hand, Williams' high top speed prevents them from taking pole. That says a lot, top speed alone isn't enough at Monza.

[mwillems]

All true. From my perspective I was talking to emag about the performance on the straights vs FP3 because I was of the opinion previously that Ferrari were pushing the car a bit more in FP3. This could be engine, fuel or anything else.

Curious about used vs softs though. I'm sure it's a coincidence but Ferrari weren't as slow as expect on used tyres in FP3 and Max was slower on new tyres than used.